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Memorial Coliseum Commission Sues Rotella

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission is suing Pasquale Rotella, his company Insomniac, and Live Nation for shuffling funds during LN’s 2013 purchase of a minority stake in Insomniac.

Pasquale Rotella

The body went after Insomniac and others, most notably former Memorial Coliseum events manager Todd DeStefano, for illegally collaborating to host Insomniac’s EDM events like Electric Daisy Carnival at the venue from 2007-2011.

DeStefano pled no-contest to felony conflict-of-interest, as he received money from Insomniac while he was working for Coliseum, allegedly helping save the promoters money through rent discounts and providing inside information. He received $1.8 million illegally, LA Weekly reported.

Now, the Commission says it is still owed money from its previous claims, as Rotella’s reshuffling of Insomniac’s branches left it unable to pay millions owed.

LA Weekly cited court documents saying that Insomniac’s events at the Coliseum between 2007 and 2011 grossed $24.7 million, $8 million of which was profit. The commission essentially believes some of that should come back to the venue.

The restructuring of Insomniac in 2013 was directly to Live Nation’s purchase of a stake in the promoter for $44,697,000, according to the filing.

“The Coliseum feigns surprise at transparent, above-board transactions that they have known about for over four years,” Rotella’s attorney Gary Jay Kaufman told the Weekly. “Suffice it to say, this baseless lawsuit will be vigorously defended.”